An Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Begins Human Clinical Trials

United Biomedical has long been in the business of producing animal vaccines, but in recent years it has turned its attention to developing vaccines for chronic human diseases including neurological diseases, diabetes, and other targets. More recently it has used its vaccine platform to develop a multitope peptide COVID-19 vaccine and spun it out into a division dubbed COVAXX. We spoke to COVAXX co-founder and CEO Mei Mei Hu and COVAXX co-founder and Chairman Peter Diamandis, about the company’s efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, how its peptide-based vaccine works, and the case for this approach. Since recording this interview, COVAXX began dosing participants in its phase 1 trial September 28, 2020.